The16 Days of Yuma…
Hemby Bridge, NC – As of now, everyone concerned about the races at Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona over the last two weeks know about the races at Cocopah Speedway in Yuma, Arizona over the last two weeks.
Today, I’m writing about mine and my brother’s sixteen day experience with a top sprint car team for all our fans worldwide and for personal reflection sometime down the road when I need a reminder of how good I got it. And yes, I said worldwide… I have a buddy in Paris that loves sprint car racing!
The Saturday after Christmas, I was standing in line to buy a bottle of spirits for a Post-Christmas celebration when the younger Kahne called asking if we could help their driver get to Yuma since they were unsure of the weather situation in route. After confirmations of appointment reschedules and two-week vacation approvals in two minutes time, travel plans were set and spirits put back in their appropriate shelving location.
The morning came early and hauling ass to the Holiday Inn in Weatherford, TX became the ultimate goal to avoid floods and blizzards that were sure to make this trip a delight. Monday morning would turn into a “social media notification alert every fifteen seconds” kind of day for a photo taken from a second story hotel room involving a Great Clips rig covered in snow. 2016 Christmas cards and replica die casts are already in the works.
With Yuma our destination, hours and hours of traffic jams would find us calling El Paso home for a few hours. A laid back night of bar hopping would find KKR’s newest employee, Steve, belching out the lyrics to AC/DC’s Thunder Struck surprisingly well earning him his forever KKR alias, Thunder.
With bad weather and road construction out of the way, Yuma was finally a possibility. Thinking we were setting record pace somewhere between El Paso and Tucson, the faded blue and gray coach of Steve Kinser came flying by us like we were hauling mountains of lead instead of light weight sprint cars. Trying to catch up alongside the King for the obvious photo op proved futile. Five minutes later in a visual landscape of twenty miles, Steve had pulled away like he has oh so many times in the past.
Day four of sixteen found us unloading cars at Mike Martin Racing in Yuma. Hauling two teams in one trailer makes life crampy at times. Luckily, Mike was gracious enough to loan us his hauler and shop for Kasey’s number 4 machine while he’s finishing his Australian tour across the Mighty Specific…
It was finally race weekend for the Great Clips Number 9 driven by Darren and crewed by Kale, Giggles, and Thunder, with special guest Mule (Me) and Midnight (Jacob). With testing for the up and coming Outlaw season a top priority, the most important question on everyone’s mind was obvious. How are those white wheels gonna look going around the track? Answer… pretty freakin’ cool, I thought.
Being sprint car drivers from the Southeast, Midnight and I never really get to experience the “away from the track” comradery that exist among traveling teams. Driving one of the most well-known sprint car rigs in the world and crewing for one of the sport’s biggest superstars is an awesome experience I wish everyone had the opportunity to witness, but there is just something extra special about hanging with sprint car heroes and daredevils away from the track that elevates that high to new levels.
I never thought I’d be negotiating real estate offers in the lobby by myself and ten minutes later Justin Adams, Kasey Kahne, and I were listening to the Shark describe every motor that ever entered a World of Outlaw event.
I never thought I’d walk out of my hotel room and yell at Kinser to slow down on the highway only for him to run up to us saying, “What? I can’t hear anymore.” Apparently the reason he was in such a hurry to get there was because he’s tired of mowing grass and wanted to get away ASAP.
I never thought we’d be chilling at the casino bar with Terry McCarl’s leg prompt up on Jacob’s lap with Terry describing every horrific sprint car related scar the eye could see. Almost made me want to retire… Nah…
I never thought I’d get to sit beside Brent Kaeding having a spirited debate with Kevin Eckert about five extra laps at Chico. Son Bud (actually Brandon) would chime in on occasion. It was great to see him back in town after his engine ignited the brightest fireball I’ve ever seen. That tragedy alone has made me rethink my whole safety equipment situation. Let me know if ya’lled like to be my personal safety sponsor this year. I’ll find somewhere on the car to put your name considering how many product sponsors Pete makes us display. He’s gonna have to make us run bigger wings if he keeps bringing in series associates.
I could go on with the Never Thoughts because I have a lot of them. In the end, I never thought any of this was possible. From the Hoosier Tire guys treating us like family to talking junk to Daryn Pittman about his Indy Colts to listening to Michael Kofoid discuss his son’s future. The experience was worth a story.
Daryn would chase Danny to the flag Saturday night while Kasey would prove he’s just as good as everyone else on limited time. Jake and I scrubbed Mike’s trailer top to bottom, front to rear while Giggles and Thunder loaded cars and wings into one hauler. Tanner helped Kasey shove the driver’s seat into a tiny Chevy trunk for a Tulsa delivery. The rear door went up and it was time to head home…
At this time I’d like to thank everyone involve…. Thanks Justin Adams for giving us the opportunity to do all the cool ass things! Thanks Josh and Steve for being great travel associates. By the way, what’s our 20 cause I gotta take a 200?! Thanks Kale for showing us how a professional team operates and to Daryn for giving us insight on how to be a professional driver in every aspect. Thanks to Tanner for helping us smile even more than we were already. And thanks to Kasey for making it all possible.
And most importantly, thanks Sam for introducing me to Animal Sauce at the In and Out!
PS. Mexico was pretty cool and cheap. The best way to pass the time during the night shift driving anywhere is to find out who is from whatever city you are driving through curtesy of that Wiki site. Kyle Larson is a beast. Messaging chairs should be mandatory in all World of Outlaw Haulers. Cocopah is 1B when it comes to great fan tracks out in the middle of nowhere. 1A being Lucas Oil in Wheatland. There is no live poker in Cocopah unfortunately (saved me a lot of money or lost me a lot of money depending on how I want to look at it).
There is an awesome barber in Somerton, AZ. You don’t need a passport to get in and out of Mexico, just a valid license. I’ll repost more once I remember them. And good luck to everyone at the Chili Bowl!